Share this:

When the Seahawks acquired Percy Harvin from Minnesota in March, everyone and their sisters knew of the injury concerns that came with the dynamic wide receiver. But after Harvin missed the Viking’s final eight games last season nursing a severe left ankle sprain, lingering injury concerns were seemingly isolated to the ligaments of Harvin’s lower half.

Injured receiver Percy Harvin will be watching his teammates for most of the season as he recovers from hip surgery. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo)

That’s why many were shocked, come the start training camp, to learn Harvin was instead dealing with an ailing hip. Shocking as it seems that Harvin will now likely miss at least eight games this season after undergoing surgery to repair a partially-torn hip labrum Thursday, the injury comes as no surprise to the rest of the NFL — including the Seahawks.

After completion of Harvin’s scheduled surgery on Thursday, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters the operation went “very well.” Harvin is expected to stay in New York for two weeks before returning to Seattle to continue rehabilitation with his team.

USA Today reported late Wednesday that Harvin’s hips were an area of concern as far back as the 2009 scouting combine. Every NFL team that examined Harvin apparently knew he had tightness in both hips that, according to the report, would likely lead to eventual hip surgery.

Here’s more from USA Today’s Tom Pelissero:

Harvin hadn’t appeared on an injury report with a hip issue since Weeks 2 and 3 of the 2010 season. But every NFL team that examined Harvin at the 2009 scouting combine knew he had impingement and tightness in both hips as well as weak abductor muscles, two people with knowledge of those examinations told USA TODAY Sports. The people spoke on condition of anonymity since the results were not released.

The story cited a study published in January by several team physicians around the league, suggesting there is an at least 40 percent chance a player with the same condition — as seen in Percy Harvin at the 2009 combine — would eventually require surgery or other treatment.

And while Harvin’s hips have vaulted him among the elite receivers in the NFL since then, the Seahawks knew what they were getting into when they traded for Harvin and signed him to a $67 million contract: a high-risk, high-reward player.

Thus far, the risk has outweighed the reward for Seattle. But it seems Harvin’s hip was bound to give him problems eventually. And while the Seahawks look to be the unlucky recipients of Harvin’s hip-roulette, taking care of the inevitable now ought to ensure a clean bill of health in years to come.

If you don’t see any photo-caption text, try refreshing the page or using a different Web browser. There is a known issue of captions not showing up for some readers using Internet Explorer. Photo galleries also may not be properly displayed on some mobile devices.